You don't need to let this one go. Below is a link showing a typical motherboard with the components labeled. Click on the link below.

The DIMM sockets are the memory. If you have more than one then remove all but one and try to install again. Be sure the computer is unplugged and you should touch the case metal just before unplugging it.

It is a Dell 4600 series with 1152 mb ddr sdram I don't know if that helps or not. I was installing windows and it complete and stopped when it was to start running windows it went off and said to run in safe mode to finish loading but it won't finish there either.

I formatted and when it finished I installed windows but when it finished and I tried to restart it said it hadn't loaded completely and gave me the message I wrote. I do this with computers and give them to special ed classes. I have never had so many problems before. I am not to great on fixing them but have always been able to format and re install but not with these that were given to me to fix. Any help is appreciated.

I had formatted and installed win 98 but when I started the computer that was the message I got. I never had this type of problem before, but I have never worked on a Dell. Usually windows comes right up.

I think 98 generates the config.sys and autoexec.bat message automatically when it detects low ram--which ironically can be caused by too much ram--and does so even if those files don't exist. Try dropping the ram to 512 or less and see if that fixes it. Or do a format and reinstall after removing the excess ram.

I have tried everything but I can get into safe mode but no ms dos. It acts like it want to start windows it will say starting windows for the first time then it goes off and says to remove some of the unecessary utilities.

Your best bet is to open the case and see how many sticks of RAM the machine has. Hopefully it has more than one so you can take some out and get to 512MB or below. This is by far the quickest and easiest solution.

If you want to run Windows 9x with more than 512MB of RAM, you will either have to:

a) try tweaking some system settings, follow the link riider provided or this one (it's a complicated issue, a lot of the discussion of it expects you to have a fair amount of experience)http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/118...

b) get a third-party patch which is not free, but will allow you to use up to 4GB of RAM if your motherboard supports ithttp://rloew1.no-ip.com/

I really appreciate your time trying to help me but I am just a novice at this. I just started a while back fixing computers for special ed classes to help in their learning and have done pretty well but the dell is different than what I am used to. If I open the case I wouldn't know what the ram looked like or how to remove it. I guess I will just have to let this one go.

You don't need to let this one go. Below is a link showing a typical motherboard with the components labeled. Click on the link below.

The DIMM sockets are the memory. If you have more than one then remove all but one and try to install again. Be sure the computer is unplugged and you should touch the case metal just before unplugging it.

. Hi I was wondering if there is anyway that I can get into ms dos to format. All I can get is command prompt and like that but it won't let me format. It tries to install window 98 but it can't without formatting first.

Just wanted to let you know I got the dell computer fixed.yea, Now I have one l left but it won't let me format. I can't get into ms dos and it won't install windows until I format Thank each and everyone of you for your help and suggestions. I would never have firgured it all out.

A bootdisk will give you all the DOS commands you need to format and install.For W9x a floppy can be useful (made from Windows or downloaded) but not many computers have floppy drives these days. The website I gave has CD bootdisk too.

Glad to hear you got one more under your belt and thx for letting us know.

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